Jeffrey A. Buehner

I retained Jeff Beuhner to represent me on a minor misdemeanor case and had to eventually fire him due to his poor legal representation. I will be filing a formal complaint to the Michigan's Attorney Grievance Commission regarding Jeff's violation of ethical standards for lawyers for the following r...easons. To begin, according to Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.0, "A lawyer shall explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation. " Jeff does not attempt to carefully explain the legal process including the basic steps involved in criminal proceedings such as having to submit a urine sample when conducting a PSI. Moreover, Jeff did not take the time to review any paperwork issued by the court and he did not reveal important alternatives to avoiding convictions. Secondly, under Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.0, "A lawyer should maintain communication with a client concerning the representation." Jeff Beuhner repeatedly refused to respond to my inquiries, attempts to reach him in urgent situations, and ultimately due to his continual lack of communication he was eventually terminated in court. Although I initially tried to confront Jeff regarding his poor service he refused to enter into discussions stating that he was not obligated to respond. Further, Jeff refused to negotiate the legal fees or issue a refund for the unused hours left in his contract. Under state law a client has the right to competent legal representation. As stated I will filing a formal complaint against Jeff. Examples of complaints the Attorney Grievance Commission has the authority to investigate are: A lawyer holding money on your behalf will not return the money or provide you with a written accounting of how it was spent; and a lawyer consistently does not respond to questions about your case, inform you about court dates, or appear in court. It should be noted that Jeff never sends case updates or reminders regarding upcoming court dates. If you are seeking competent legal representation I highly recommend that you hire someone else. I conferred with four other attorneys regarding the nature of Jeff's representation and they ALL agreed that his behavior was unacceptable.